Hello everyone! Glad to have found this wonderful site!
I rescued a 1 year old cat this past June 15th from my backyard that I fell in love with since she was a kitten last year. It was a planned operation done by my neighbor and myself. You could say I re-captured her if you read her story here. She has had very temporary/sporadic contact with humans (my neighbor and his elderly parents) which is why I think she is semi-feral. The momma cat is complete feral that lives in our backyards. My neighbor tells me that he used to pick Misha up and mush his face into hers and that she loved it (in his Russian accent) but that once in awhile she would swat at him. They keep the strays and ferals in their basement during the winter and feed them but not sure how frequently. I think he really doesn't understand cats at all but I'll just leave it at that.
Its now almost 3 months since I've had Misha and she has come along well since then but at a very slow pace which I was aware of and expected. Just this week, she has finally gotten the courage to come out of her room since I've been leaving the door to her room open so her bro and sis, Toby and Fifi could go back into their old room and get acquainted with their sis. Toby gets along great with her but Fifi growls and hisses at her whenever she gets to close. I understand cats can be copy cats so I'm hoping that they can help. Misha still cowers and looks at me with fear in her eyes like I'm going to kill her when I walk into her room. The only way I can pet her is by slowly walking into her room and laying low as I approach her and let her sniff my hand. I'm not sure if I should even be doing this because I don't want to reinforce her fear of me. She loves to be petted otherwise when she allows it and gives me head bumps but I think its because she knows feeding time is near, lol
! The only time she doesn't fear me much is obviously when its feeding time which she now has been waiting by the feeding station. Lately, I have been trying to just ignore her by not petting her and playing with her to see if she may seek me out. She does once in awhile but she usually doesn't once Toby is in front of my face and hogging up the time I am in there. What I would like to ask you all is should I be going to her and petting her or should I just ignore her and let her come to me when she wants? I don't want to have a scared kitty running around my house for years to come. I understand that this may be the way she will always be but I can't help but feel like there is something more that I can do to help encourage her not to be scared. I know 3 months for taming a feral is not much time at all but I want to be sure I'm using all this time in a positive manner. I just want to know if I'm doing the right things (or wrong) toward helping her become a happy kitty. Any suggestions/advice/help is welcomed and appreciated! Thanks!
I rescued a 1 year old cat this past June 15th from my backyard that I fell in love with since she was a kitten last year. It was a planned operation done by my neighbor and myself. You could say I re-captured her if you read her story here. She has had very temporary/sporadic contact with humans (my neighbor and his elderly parents) which is why I think she is semi-feral. The momma cat is complete feral that lives in our backyards. My neighbor tells me that he used to pick Misha up and mush his face into hers and that she loved it (in his Russian accent) but that once in awhile she would swat at him. They keep the strays and ferals in their basement during the winter and feed them but not sure how frequently. I think he really doesn't understand cats at all but I'll just leave it at that.
Its now almost 3 months since I've had Misha and she has come along well since then but at a very slow pace which I was aware of and expected. Just this week, she has finally gotten the courage to come out of her room since I've been leaving the door to her room open so her bro and sis, Toby and Fifi could go back into their old room and get acquainted with their sis. Toby gets along great with her but Fifi growls and hisses at her whenever she gets to close. I understand cats can be copy cats so I'm hoping that they can help. Misha still cowers and looks at me with fear in her eyes like I'm going to kill her when I walk into her room. The only way I can pet her is by slowly walking into her room and laying low as I approach her and let her sniff my hand. I'm not sure if I should even be doing this because I don't want to reinforce her fear of me. She loves to be petted otherwise when she allows it and gives me head bumps but I think its because she knows feeding time is near, lol